Best Days of My Life
by RainbowWolf1313
Summary: Book 1 in the Cousins Trilogy. Aiya Wyatt is the cousin of James Potter, best friend of Lily Evans, honorary sister of Sirius Black and totally in love with Remus Lupin. Growing up might be a pain in the rear but sometimes, just sometimes, it turns out to be the best days you'll ever know. Rated M for later chapters.
1. Compartment for Four

Aiya Wyatt was not your average eleven year old. The first major difference was that she was a witch though she had access to an even bigger level of weird since she was also a telepath. Well, actually she was a telekinetic but she did have a bit of telepathic abilities. She couldn't read anyone's mind outright but she could read their feelings easily and if she concentrated hard enough she could catch a word or two and sometimes even project a couple herself. It exhausted the hell out of her to attempt either of those but rumor had it doing so would become easier as she got older. Aiya wasn't really sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

On September 1st at 10:45 am Aiya and her parents stepped foot onto King's Cross's Platform 9 ¾ because today was the day Aiya left for Hogwarts. As she'd crossed through the barrier that separated the magical platform from the rest of the muggle train station her eyes were drawn immediately to the bright scarlet engine that was the Hogwarts Express. Just the sight of it made her stomach do a funny little flip because she almost hadn't gotten to see it at all. Luckily there she was though she was going to end up missing her ride if her parents didn't stop talking soon. She'd tuned them out a while ago and was just waiting for her opening to escape.

"Oi, Aiya!"

Dear Merlin, that voice is music to her ears, her escape had finally arrived. "James!"

Honestly she loved this guy. James Potter was her cousin and best friend. It was seriously a relief to see him.

James ran up and hugged her fiercely. "I thought you weren't coming."

"I wasn't but after begging for days they finally gave in."

"Perfect!" He turned to her parents and smiled sweetly. "Hi Aunt Liz, Uncle Robert."

"Hello James, where are your parents?"

James and Aiya started laughing and her mother looked completely confused. They pointed behind her parents and the adults turned around, coming face to face with Anastasia and Kyle Potter. Aiya's mum and aunt hugged and began talking while her dad and uncle started in on a conversation about the school. James and Aiya rolled their eyes at the adults and both fought not to laugh. Finally, after five minutes of waiting, she cleared her throat to get their attention.

"Um, train leaves in ten minutes so we're going to go get a compartment now."

Both sets of parents stopped talking to hug and kiss them before they ran off. As Aiya and James started looking for a compartment they were laughing so hard they could barely stand. It wasn't a surprise when James ran into someone and this only caused Aiya to laugh harder. James and the poor person he'd run into fell on the floor of the hallway and sat there staring at each other.

After a minute of neither one moving Aiya smacked James upside the head. "James, you giant git, apologize to the poor man, you did try and kill him after all."

"No I didn't."

He stood and helped the other boy up. Aiya leaned against the wall and waited to see what happened. The kid was kind of cute but he also had this air of arrogance about him. Again they stood staring at each other, sizing each other up Aiya thought, until James held his hand out.

"James Potter."

"Sirius Black."

Again Aiya rolled her eyes before pushing away from the wall. "Okay, now that that's over can we please go find a compartment?"

Black looked her up and down curiously. "And who are you?"

"Aiya Wyatt."

"What kind of name 'Aiya'?"

"I don't know, what kind of name is 'Sirius'?"

He laughed and smiled. Aiya just stuck out her tongue and started off to find a compartment. She heard James call after her but she kept going. She was tired of watching those two stare at each other so he could hunt her down when he was done. Took another couple of minutes but she finally found a compartment she was marginally happy with. There was a guy already sitting there but she didn't think he would mind her joining him.

"Hi, mind if I sit here?"

He never looked up from his book but she heard him mutter 'no' so she stuffed her trunk overhead and sat down. She figured James wasn't far behind so she stared at the door until he came bursting in.

"Why'd you leave?"

"Because I was tired of watching you idiots size each other up. You're both big bad he-men so can we go on with life?"

The boy in the corner gave a snort of laughter and Aiya decided then and there that she would definitely be making friends with him. James and Sirius stared at her, mouths open, before James started laughing hysterically. Sirius looked at then like they were both crazy before shrugging and taking a seat. She hadn't seen him put his trunk away but when she looked it was sitting on the rack overhead.

The three of them sat talking until the train started moving. James and Aiya paused to wave good-bye to their families then turned back to the others. The mystery boy was still sitting there reading and Aiya decided that he needed to pay attention to her and the others instead.

"What are you reading?" She leaned down and turned her neck at a funny angle to try and see the title.

"Nothing."

"Liar." Aiya snatched the book and looked it over. "Werewolves? Deep reading."

"I guess."

"No seriously, this really is deep stuff. When I was nine I spent all summer reading about them. I couldn't get enough, I thought it was all so interesting."

"It's true, she's such a geek."

"James, you really are a git you know that right?"

"Yep."

"Okay, so anyway, why werewolves?"

"Why did you read about them?"

"Curiosity. I read about some attacks in the 'Prophet' and I wanted to know more. So why are you reading about them?"

"Curiosity."

"Liar. So, you got a name or should I just keep calling you a liar?"

"Remus Lupin."

"Aiya Wyatt, and they," Aiya pointed to the others. "Are Sirius Black and James Potter. James is my cousin and Sirius is some random bloke James tried to kill in the hallway."

"Aiya, I didn't try and kill him! He ran into me, that's not my fault."

Sirius gasped and shot James an injured look. Yep, Aiya was definitely going to like this guy, he was messing with her cousin already. She just laughed and turned back to Remus. He was staring at her, probably waiting for her to give his book back. He had great eyes; they kind of reminded her of hot chocolate, pale brown and sweet. Why exactly she was having thoughts like that she had no idea but whatever.

"Aiya, show them what you can do." Aiya jumped a little and sent a death glare at James.

"There's nothing to show James."

"Oh come on Aiya, don't be, ow!"

She stared at the ceiling, pretending that she hadn't just elbowed him in the side. Sirius was laughing his ass off and Remus wore a small smile though he kept his laughter to himself. Aiya just smiled innocently and prepared to start a new conversation on anything but then the door of the compartment slid open. She noticed the look on James' face and decided that paybacks are hell.

"Hey Red."

"My name is not 'Red'."

"I know that but since I don't know your name it worked for me."

She gave Aiya a rather scathing look and she bit her cheek so that she didn't laugh. "My name is Lily Evans."

"A pleasure, I'm sure. I'm Aiya, that's Sirius, Remus and my cousin James who, by the look of things, has developed an instantaneous and gigantic crush on you."

James fell out of his seat; Lily stared from him to Aiya and back, and the rest of then laughed until they cried. Aiya could tell that Lily thought this was some kind of joke so she gathered herself quickly.

"Look, it's nice to meet you Lily. I promise we aren't making fun of you, I was just stating the obvious since James here was practically drooling on himself. Why don't you come in and take a seat."

"Thanks but I already have a compartment, I was just looking for someone."

Aiya shrugged and smiled at her. "Okay, well, see you around then."

"Bye." She disappeared from sight and Aiya turned her gaze back to James. He was still on the floor and looked like someone had just slapped him. For the second time that day she smacked him on the back of the head. He came back from whatever alternate reality he'd been enjoying and lifted himself back onto the bench next to her. She had to fight not to laugh again and somehow managed to look completely innocent.

Shock was slowly beginning to wear off and since she didn't want James to start wailing on her she brought up Quidditch. Sirius and James jumped on the subject and began talking animatedly. Aiya turned back to Remus and handed him his book. He smiled and, much to her surprise, set the book next to him.

"So, why did you elbow James?"

"I did no such thing."

"Yes you did."

"Prove it."

He laughed and Aiya swore her blood froze. He'd laughed earlier, along with the rest of them, but this time was different. This time his eyes lit up and he looked amazing. Earlier she had wondered about the pallor of his skin and the scars on his face and hands but when he laughed like this they weren't even noticeable. Damn, he was freaking hot! Wait, say what? She did not just think that. Nope, not her, Aiya do not have a crush, she did not think he was hot and she was so not fooling herself here. Someone really needed to save her from herself.

"Are you okay?"

Wow, reality check. "Yeah, fine, sorry I'm a bit spacey sometimes."

"No problem."

"So you never did tell me why you were reading about werewolves."

"Oh, that. Well, you see, I, well, I, it's just that, uh-"

"Anything from the trolley dears?"

Damn, sweet cart was here. Ha, sugar! Aiya jumped up and bought one of everything chocolate on the cart. What could she say, she loved her chocolate. After the others got what they wanted the group all sat down and fell silent as they ate. Aiya amused the guys by playing with her chocolate frogs; apparently the little guys don't like playing jump rope. The best one, by far, was when she sent one bouncing around the room and it landed on James' head. Needless to say she didn't eat that one.

As the hours passed the four of the, sat talking about anything they could think of. They were quickly forming a friendship and Aiya hoped that no matter what houses they got into they would stay friends. Before she could even think about it they were nearly at the school. The four of them quickly pulled on their robes and waited for the train to stop. When it was time to disembark James and Aiya had identical smiles on their faces.

They all rode across the lake, listened to a speech about how the sorting worked and finally entered the Great Hall. Now the fun begins. The teacher officiating began calling out names but Aiya only listened with half an ear. She'd pay attention when she cared but otherwise she was checking the place out.

"Black, Sirius."

Time to pay attention! Aiya watched Sirius sit on the stool. He looked so stupid with that hat on but whatever. As they waited she thought back to the train ride and remembered him lamenting about the sorting. Apparently his family had been in Slytherin for years and expected him to get in too, even though he didn't want to. She was beginning to wonder if the hat was going to sort him at all when it finally yelled '**Gryffindor**'."

Sirius looked shocked and broke out into a huge smile as he walked to the Gryffindor table. Well, at least he managed to stay out of Slytherin. Ugh, Slytherin, gross. Nothing but trouble and creepiness coming out of that place. Aiya was so glad Sirius wasn't sorted into that house because that would have been the end of any friendship. Slytherins did not befriend students in other houses, doing so was beneath them.

"Evans, Lily."

Aiya felt James tense up and rolled her eyes, the boy needed help. Lily was put in Gryffindor and Aiya had to fight a laugh when Sirius winked at James. She knew that James would complain for the rest of our lives if he wasn't put in Gryffindor. Honestly, her cousin was a complete and utter dork. She could tell he was nervous and wondered why, their families had a history in Gryffindor, they'd be fine.

"Lupin, Remus."

Hello you have my attention now Professor, she thought. Aiya sighed when he was put in Gryffindor as well and suddenly she was the nervous one. Had she been making fun of James a few moments ago? Well, she took it all back! If Aiya don't get into Gryffindor she might just cry. Dramatic she knew but she already had the feeling James would be put there and she wanted to be with her cousin and new friends.

"Potter, James."

Aiya heard James gulp as he walked up to the stool. He sat down and looked so nervous she thought he was going to faint. As if that wasn't bad enough she saw Sirius and Remus staring at him. Great, let's all make the poor guy nervous and have him embarrass himself in front of the whole school. Not a bad idea but this was important. Another moment passed before everyone heard, '**Gryffindor**'.

Aiya clapped almost as hard as the Gryffindors and she hadn't even been sorted yet. James ran over to the others and sat down smiling. She thought she saw him wink at Lily Evans but she wasn't sure. Great, now Aiya was the only one left. Merlin keep her the hell out of Slytherin. If that happened she would have to run away in shame. She shivered at the thought of being stuck with that bunch and felt nauseous.

Noise snapped her out of her thoughts and she looked to see what was going on. Oh damn, stool, boy, floating, crap! Aiya shut her eyes tight and set the stool down. When she opened them the boy who had been clinging to it was shaking. Damn, damn, damn, she'd let myself get distracted and next thing she knew some kid she'd never even seen before was floating in front of the whole school. Great, perfect, luckily no one knows it was her who did it.

"Wyatt, Aiya."

Crap, here goes nothing, and everything, she thought. Aiya was one of the last to be called so there was next to no one up there with her. She slid on the stool and forced myself not to look nervous.

"Hmm," whoa, voice in her head! "Your mind is very interesting my dear, very interesting indeed. Ambition, you would do marvelous in Slytherin." Not even! "No? Well, let's see, ah, intelligence galore, you would do beautifully in Ravenclaw. Oh, and a great deal of loyalty to your friends. Ah, yes definitely loyal, well then, **Gryffindor**."

Yes! For a second there, with all that talk about loyalty, she thought she was going to end up in Hufflepuff. Nothing wrong with that but it wasn't where she wanted to be. Nope, she was a Gryffindor, yippee. Okay, enough. She ran over and sat next to James. He hugged her and leaned in.

"Nice job making that Snape kid float."

"Didn't do it on purpose."

"Really? Too bad."

Aiya shrugged and elbowed him lightly. They smiled at each other before turning to pay attention to the headmaster. She expected some kind of big speech but he just told everyone to tuck in and sat down as the food appeared. Yum, food. Hey, what could she say, she was addicted. Aiya was permanently stuck on skinny no matter how much she ate since her metabolism was beyond abnormally high. This being the case she figured she might as well enjoy herself. Of course she had yet to figure out why she even bothered with food when all she wanted was dessert.

"Hello? Earth to Aiya."

"What?" She blinked a couple of times and looked at James. "What do you want?"

"Sirius just asked you about your wand stupid."

"My wand?"

"Yes, we're currently discussing them."

"Can't we talk about something a little more interesting, like Quidditch?"

Sirius smirked and shook his head. "Nope, now what kind of wand do you have?"

"Rosewood, unicorn hair, ten inches. Happy?"

"Yep, now on to Quidditch!" He speared his fork into the air and they all started laughing. Damn but school was going to be fun with this bunch around.

"So guys," Aiya took the initiative since none of the idiots could bring themselves to quit laughing. "What positions do you play? James, shut your mouth I already know what you play."

"They don't."

"Fine, proceed."

James smiled and puffed out his chest. "Chaser."

"Same." This from Sirius.

Aiya smiled devilishly. "Seeker."

Remus blushed, yes blushed, and mumbled something that none of them could hear. Aiya watched him closely and forced herself not to try and read him. If there was something he was holding back that was his business and she was not going to intrude.

Sirius looked him over. "What?"

He turned a deeper shade of red and said, "I've never played."

"What!" James and Sirius chorused.

Aiya shot them both harsh glances and looked at Remus. "It's no big deal you know. Don't let those two idiots get to you; the world does not revolve around Quidditch."

"This from the seeker, all you have to do is float around and then make a mad dash for the snitch, if you catch it then you're the hero."

"Shut up Black! I could kick your ass as a chaser any day of the week. Besides, if you know anything about Quidditch, which by your last statement I'm guessing you don't, you would know that seeker is the hardest position there is."

Sirius shot her a huge smile. "I know I just wanted to see what you would say. In other news, she's right Remus. Sadly, the world does not revolve around Quidditch which is why I find myself in school."

Remus cheered up some, relieved that the others didn't care. Damn it, he was so cute when he smiles. Ugh, what the hell is the matter with her? Aiya barely even knew this guy and here she was thinking about how cute he is? Hell, if James knew what she was thinking he would never let her live it down. She scowled at her thoughts but was brought out of it by James nudging her arm. She looked up and saw all three of them staring at her. Shit! Luckily today seemed to be her day because just then dessert appeared and she was saved from having to say anything as they all dove in.

Merlin, this stuff almost puts her mum's desserts to shame. If she got this every night she might just learn how to gain weight. Again she zoned back in to hear Sirius talking, did that boy ever shut up?

"So Aiya, you mentioned that you and James are cousins, how does that work?"

"First, when did I mention that and second why do you care?"

"You mentioned it on the train and I'm just curious."

"Whatever. Our moms are sisters, twins, so yeah I'd say that sums that one up. Next!"

The boys laughed and Aiya just rolled her eyes. What was this; interrogate Aiya while she's not paying attention night? They'd been on a train all day and now it's time to play twenty questions. Why couldn't they have done this earlier when none of them had anything better to do? Why wait until dinner when they were all starving?

"Earth to Aiya!"

"Oi, Jamie, what the bloody hell is the matter with you? You of all people know better than to startle me like that."

Sirius started laughing hysterically and James, Remus and Aiya stared at him in confusion. Finally his deep belly laughs turned to, of all things, giggles and he managed to squeak out "Jamie". James glared daggers and Aiya started to laugh.

"Yes, Jamie. I've called him that all our lives and I'm the only one who gets away with calling him that. Honestly, what's the big deal? It's a freaking nickname they aren't that uncommon you know."

"I know but still it's funny."

"If you say so. Let's see what I can come up with to call you. How about Siri?"

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Try me! So, make fun of James again and I'll gladly take to using it and making sure that every girl at Hogwarts knows to use it as well."

"Ugh, fine you win. Aiya, you are a truly evil woman, you know that right?"

"And all the men love me for it. What can I say, I'm hot stuff."

James gave a horrified gasp and shot her a look of utter disbelief. "No! No, my little cousin is not hot stuff."

"Little my ass, Jamie. You are two months older than I am and you think that makes me your little cousin?"

"Face it Aiya love, you'll always be my little cousin because I'll always be taller than you." Aiya punched him in the arm which sent Remus and Sirius into another bout of laughter.

Finally Dumbledore dismissed the students and the quartet headed off toward Gryffindor Tower. Aiya walked between James and Remus and linked arms with both. Apparently Sirius felt left out because he linked arms with James and ended up getting cuffed on the head. They all laughed laughed and continued on their way as Aiya began making her declarations concerning the living situations.

"If I'm stuck with a bunch of girly girls I'm moving in with you losers."

Sirius smiled over at her. "There are five Gryffindor first years little girl, which means five beds, which means you're out of luck."

"Well," she smiled as sweetly as possible, "if I have to I will not hesitate to send some poor boy to sleep in the bathtub or hallway or whatever. I cannot be stuck with a bunch of overly girly girls! They keep medieval torture devices in the bathrooms and attack each other with them. I refuse to be made a torture target."

Sirius pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead. "Oh you poor baby! If you get scared you just come climb in bed with me and I'll protect you."

She punched him in the stomach. "Pervert! If I'm going to climb in bed with anyone it will be someone who won't molest me as I try to sleep, in other words James or Remus."

"I'm wounded Aiya, absolutely wounded."

"Bull!"

James and Remus laughed and James pulled her away from Sirius. He gave him a completely fake 'hands-off' look which made Aiya laugh. They entered the common room and she gave each of them a kiss on the cheek before heading off to the girl's dormitory. Before she went in she told them that she would meet them at breakfast in the morning.

* * *

A/N: It's back! Best Days is slowly being revamped and continued. Unfortunately this is a slow thing as everything that's been written so far has to be redone and so far only chapter one is ready. I plan on getting this re-arranged as fast as possible, also known as being as fast as life will allow me time to work on it. Leave reviews because I love them, constructive criticism also welcome but if you don't have anything nice to say then don't say anything at all (aka no flames).


	2. The Cat Shredded the Bag

Aiya entered the Great Hall to find it packed and then some. Apparently people were anxious for classes to begin. She looked up the table until she saw the boys and headed for them. She was a little confused to see someone else sitting with them but slid in next to James just the same.

"James, who's that?"

"His name's Peter Pettigrew, he's in our dorm. I invited him to hang out with us."

"Works, so guess who's in my dorm."

"Who?"

"Lily Evans, that red-head you like."

"Shut up!"

"Never. So, Sirius, Remus, how are you two doing this morning?"

Sirius reached over and took her hand in both of his. "Wonderful now that you're here Aiya my love."

"Ew, Sirius, I am not now nor will I ever be your love."

"Why must you wound me so?" He jerked his hands away and clasped them over his heart. Over dramatic prat!

They all laughed at his idiocy, Pettigrew's sounded more like a squeak, and dug into their breakfasts. After about ten minutes Professor McGonagall, their head of house, came by with their class schedules. The boys were so excited that they had all their classes together that Aiya didn't have the heart to tell them that first years in the same house always had the same classes together.

"You lot are such girls, now get your butts up, we have to get to charms."

The whole way to class they complained about how mean Aiya was but she just smiled and kept going. They loved giving her hell and it was fun to give as good as she got. She loved these guys! Being friends with Sirius was like having another James around. The two of them got on great and it was all fun. Remus was quiet but he's the kind of guy Aiya could spend hours talking to. She may have only known them for two days but it felt like they'd all been friends for years.

When they got to charms Aiya darted away from the guys and slid into a chair. They stopped and stared as she pulled out the things she would need for class. Apparently her choice of desk mate was a shock. Aiya laughed to herself as she turned to greet her partner.

"Hey Lils."

"Hey, who are they?" She pointed to the idiots who were still frozen in place, staring at them.

Aiya waved them over, trying hard not to laugh. She pointed to each one as she introduced them. "This is Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, James Potter and Peter Pettigrew. Dorks, this is Lily Evans."

James gave his most charming smile. "How's it going Evans?"

"Everything was going wonderfully until you showed up Potter."

Lily and Aiya started laughing hysterically, the redhead was harassing James, Aiya loved this girl. Sirius, Remus and Peter laughed with them while James stood looking aghast. James punched Sirius and the two sat behind the girls with Remus and Peter behind them. Lily and Aiya didn't stop laughing until Professor Flitwick came in. When he started lecturing James and Aiya pulled out their enchanted parchments.

_Aiya: Hurray, boredom hath begun. Is it time to go home yet?_

_James: Ha, no! If Flitwick's voice getting any higher I'm going to start howling._

_Aiya: Amen, how can the others focus?_

_Sirius: Oi, what are you two doing?_

_Aiya: Sirius, butt out!_

_Sirius: No! What is this thing?_

_Aiya: Enchanted parchment you idiot. With this, James and I don't have to worry about being caught passing notes. Whatever I write shows up on both parchments and vice versa._

_James: Careful Aiya, you don't want to confuse him. Things like 'vice versa' might make his poor brain bleed or something._

_Sirius: Hey! Bloody git._

_Aiya: Sirius I thought I told you to go away, James and I are trying to talk here._

_Sirius: Where can I get one of these things?_

_Aiya: I'll make you one tonight, now be gone._

Aiya got the distinct impression that Sirius was sticking his tongue out at her so she scribbled 'raspberry?' on the parchment. James simply replied 'yep'. Aiya smiled and started writing to James again. This went on for a while before they had to stop so that they could practice the charm they were supposed to be learning. Aiya got it on the second try though James managed to conquer it on the first try. Lily was rather perturbed because they got it so quickly when they hadn't been paying attention.

"Lily, what's the problem with the fact that we got it so quickly?"

"You two weren't even paying attention! How did you manage to get it so fast?"

"Natural talent Lils. I've been reading books about this since I was a little kid so it comes easy."

"And Potter?"

"I don't know James is just like that."

"If you say so and Potter's writing to you again."

_James: Nicely done baby doll._

_Aiya: Thanks._

_Sirius: Baby doll?_

_Aiya: Sirius, go away!_

_Sirius: Baby doll?_

_Aiya: It's a freaking nickname you idiot._

_Sirius: Fine._

_James: So Aiya, you didn't go pysch on me did you?_

_Aiya: No, that was just me and my wand._

_James: Just curious._

_Aiya: I know that's why I didn't jump down your throat._

_James: For which I am eternally grateful. Last time you 'jumped down my throat' I couldn't walk straight for a week._

_Sirius: Damn woman, what did you do to him?_

_Aiya: For the millionth time, shut up Sirius!_

_Sirius: You've only said it once. Earlier you just told me to go away._

_Aiya: Ass!_

_James: Aiya, play nice._

_Aiya: Why?_

_James: Um, well, oh hell never mind, as you were._

_Aiya: Ha!_

_Sirius: Evil woman!_

_Aiya: Again, ha!_

_James: Hey class is over you two, can we please go now?_

Since Aiya always had to have the last word she dashed out 'fine' and quickly packed her things. Sirius and James just laughed and they set out for their next class. Remus and Peter were already waiting in the hall so they all just fell in step and headed for the dungeons.

Sirius sat back and groaned. "I hate this."

"We all do but it's got to be done."

"Shut up Aiya!"

Remus sighed heavily. "Sirius, calm down."

"You aren't helping Remus."

Aiya shot Sirius a withering look. "Leave him alone. Honestly, you are such a prat." Needless to say she was getting pissed.

"Aiya-"

"Shut it James"

"Aiya-"

"I said shut it."

"Aiya!"

"What!"

"You're pissed baby doll."

"Really and what gave you that idea?" She really, really hated it when people stated the obvious.

He pointed up. "Our charms books are currently headed on a collision course with the ceiling."

Aiya looked up and sure enough there were four books floating in mid-air. "Crap!" The books fell back to the table and she cringed. Thank god there was no one in the common room.

"What the hell just happened?" Sirius was wide-eyed and it hit her that the boys were there with her.

Aiya was so embarrassed. James wrapped his arm around her shoulders and she buried her face against his chest. She hadn't wanted them to know about her telekinesis because when people found out what she could do they always started treating her like she was some kind of freak. She snuck a glance, careful to make sure no one saw her looking, and almost broke into tears at the sight of Sirius and Remus staring at her. Aiya then took a deep breath and lifted her face to look at them.

"I'm sorry I didn't say anything before but I'm a psychic."

Sirius stared at her, damn but he looked confused. "A what?"

"A psychic, I have telekinetic and telepathic powers."

Remus looked amazed. "You can read minds?"

James started to protest but Aiya cut him off. "No, I can't. I'm a telekinetic with partial telepathic ability. I get impression or feelings but not thoughts." At least not yet. The guess was that someday Aiya would be able to communicate through thought but for the moment it was still beyond her scope of ability.

Sirius and Remus stared at she intently and she had to fight the urge to bury her face against James' chest. She was determined to face this head-on, no matter how they felt she wouldn't let it hurt her. They wouldn't be the first to run away because of what she could do, even in the wizarding world she was considered a freak. To be honest, James was the only person who hadn't turned their back on her over the years, well besides her parents and his.

"Look, guys, I understand if you don't want to be friends anymore. I know I'm a freak so it's okay."

Sirius continued to stare, his expression blank. Aiya had to fight against the urge to run but finally, he said something. "Aiya, you are most definitely a freak and it's totally awesome."

Now it was her turn to stare. "Are you serious?"

"Why yes, yes I am, Sirius Black, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Ass."

Sirius just laughed. "Aiya, do you really think it matters? I mean, if we've put up with you for two days already why would we ditch now?"

She just shrugged and stared at her half written essay. "Look, you guys just don't get it. My dad wasn't even going to let me come to Hogwarts because of what I can do. People freak out when they hear about it, they think I'm going to try and control their thoughts or something."

Remus shot her a mischievous smile and nodded, almost imperceptibly, at Sirius. "It might be an improvement for some people."

And that's what finally made Aiya relax. These guys honestly didn't care, which was a whole new thing for her. All her life kids had run screaming, and yes she literally meant screaming, when she showed them the things she could do. Her dad had insisted that she be home schooled until Aiya and her mum had pestered him into letting the girl come to Hogwarts.

"Look, you guys can't tell anyone about her. This is a major deal to my uncle, he's paranoid to a fault when it comes to Aiya. If word gets back to him that she went off he won't hesitate to pull her from school."

"No worries mate, Aiya is safe with us." Remus nodded in agreement to Sirius' statement and Aiya felt relief for the first time since they had arrived at Hogwarts.

"Now that you guys know you have to help me keep control. I'm learning to control it and I can for the most part but if I get pissed I lose control so I need you two to help James to keep me cool."

The boys nodded but Sirius seemed a little confused. "So it was you who sent that Snape kid flying?"

"Yeah, anger isn't the only thing that makes me lose control. When that happened I was nervous and a bit distracted which is why he was in the air so long."

Now both of them looked confused and Aiya knew she would be answering questions for a while.

"Why couldn't the professors get him down then? I mean, with a counter spell or something."

"Because it's not a spell. Think about it Remus, I'm eleven and not many kids my age know non-verbal spells, but beyond that it's a psychic ability which had nothing to do with spell work."

"Not to mention the fact that, for her age, Aiya's a damn powerful psychic."

"James, shut up." Aiya looked at the other two and rolled her eyes. "For some reason he's insanely proud of this whole psychic thing."

"And why shouldn't I be? Everyone else may think it's weird but you should be proud of what you can do. Not only is it awesome but it makes you even more special than you already are."

"Do you enjoy embarrassing me?"

All three of them laughed at her so Aiya decided to mess with them. Within moments they were all floating about a foot off the ground and they all looked completely shocked.

Aiya smiled sweetly and bat her eyelashes at them. "Please remember that I can do this at anytime on any day and make you lot look like complete dorks so if I were you I wouldn't poke fun at me."

They all nodded and she lowered them back into their seats. Sirius and James glared at her but Remus just smiled and winked. Aiya felt herself start to turn red, yes she admitted it she had a crush on Remus. She smiled back and fought not to laugh, apparently she wasn't the only one who had been amused by what she had just done to them.

"Did you guys hear Snape in potions? He's still whining about last night and I heard him say that when he finds out who jinxed him he's going to pay them back good."

Aiya wasn't worried by what Remus was telling them because the likelihood of Snape finding out what really happened was next to none.

"That's okay, get this, I heard the other Slytherin kids calling him Severus and I just couldn't help myself, I called out 'Severus, more like Snivellus.' I swear I've never seen anyone so embarrassed in my life."

They all stared at Sirius and no one said anything. Finally Aiya came to her senses. "Sirius that is so wrong. That being said, 'Snivellus' does have a nice ring to it."

Everyone laughed and they decided that, in honor of his episode in the Great Hall, courtesy of Aiya herself, they would be calling him 'Snivellus' from now on. Aiya probably wouldn't have allowed it if it weren't for that fact that a) he really had been a big baby about it and b) he was making threats. No matter how confident she was that he'd never find out the threat still made her nervous.

"Uh, guys, we should probably get to bed, we do have class tomorrow."

James and Sirius groaned and, in perfect unison, which Aiya found hilarious, said, "Remus you're no fun."

Remus and Aiya nearly fell out of their chairs they were laughing so hard but somehow they managed to stay put. James and Sirius joined in as the group packed their things.

"Oi, Sirius, Remus, I almost forgot to give you these." Aiya handed them each a sheet of parchment, which earned her two very confused looks. "They're enchanted parchments like James and I were writing on earlier. Now we can entertain each other during class without the teachers knowing the difference."

Sirius smiled but Remus look a little concerned. "What if the teacher is walking by and sees?"

Aiya shook her head and winked at both of them. "That's the beauty of it. If anyone but us looks at it all they'll see is class notes."

Now they both smiled but James was frowning at her. "Then how did Evans know I was writing to you in Charms?"

"Because she's smart. I showed it to her last night so she knew what it was. Plus if you look these are a slightly darker color than our regular parchments so we don't have to worry about not being able to tell them apart."

"Anything else we should know?" Sirius was looking very stern, apparently this was a serious matter to him. Yeah yeah, Sirius, serious, ha ha.

"Let's see, they automatically wipe clean once the page has been filled. If you do accidentally start to give it to someone who isn't supposed to have it your hand will start to feel really warm so that you know you're about to give it away. Um, I think that's everything."

"Excellent, now can we please go to bed?"

They all laughed at Sirius and finished packing their stuff. Aiya hugged each of them and dashed up the stairs. She was quiet as she slipped into her dorm because the other girls were already asleep and she didn't want to wake them. As she settled into bed Aiya couldn't help but smile like an idiot, she was just so happy that someone, well two someones, besides James had accepted her. She couldn't wait to write her mum, she was going to be so happy. Things were definitely looking good.


	3. Scared of the Dark

Warning: Non-graphic violence below

* * *

Over the next few weeks little changed. Aiya divided her free time between Lily and the guys since Lily was not particularly fond of James and Peter was becoming a permanent fixture among them. She was getting a kick out of the whole Lily and James thing, especially since James had started asking her out every time he saw her, but Peter was a different matter. He didn't really fit in; he was more like a leech or something. Honestly, Aiya didn't really like him all that much but James made her promise to give him a chance so she was trying.

The lot of them, save Lily, were starting to build a reputation as troublemakers. They constantly found themselves in detention for one thing or another, well except Remus since he was always trying to be the voice of reason. In addition to that they were coming up with all sorts of tricks to play on the other students, especially Snivellus. Life was good or well, it was until about a week after Halloween.

The day prior to the incident in question they had performed a rather spectacular feat. It had involved Snivellus, mustard, a hair growth potion and a liter of shampoo. It was great, one minute you're eating a sandwich at lunch and the next you're covered in hair with shampoo and brushes trying to scrub the grease off. The whole school saw it and everyone, including Slytherin house, laughed their arses off.

Unfortunately he decided that he was going to get revenge, which ended up being bloody painful. It was after the last lesson of the day and Aiya had told the guys to go on ahead because her bag had broken, which was weird because it had been fine when she'd packed up two minutes before. They were going to meet her in the common room so it wasn't like they were going to be apart for that long. Well, after she finished gathering her things Aiya left the room and ran into a wall, squishy wall, landing herself on the floor.

"Watch where you're going."

"Ah Snivellus, I see you're hair has returned to its natural, disgustingly greasy state."

"Why you little, I think it's time you learned some manners Wyatt."

"Really? Well, seeing as you have none I don't think I have much to worry about."

She probably should have kept her mouth shut because the next thing Siya knew his foot had connected with her face. Blood poured down her face as he proceeded to kick her in the ribs. They made this lovely crunching sound which seemed to vibrate through her head, which was a rather odd sensation. Each time his foot connected with her body she swore she could feel something bruise, skin, organ, whatever. Aiya started to go numb as she detached herself from what was happening, it was the only way to defend herself.

Why not just go psychic on his ass? Because the only thought Aiya was capable of forming was 'Ow!'. She groaned as he kicked hard enough to dislocate her shoulder and break her arm, which really hurt. He circled around her, kicking every available inch. At one point he even picked her up and threw me into a wall, a real wall, which just left her feeling worse than when things had started. And then everything suddenly stopped. Now that the continuous abuse was over Aiya was slowly being forced to return to her body which was a damn unpleasant sensation. There was a loud roar in her ears so she never heard Snivellus' departure or Remus' arrival.

"Oh Gods, Aiya."

"R-Remus? Oi, my head hurts, got a spare potion I could take?"

"Shh, don't talk sweetheart, I'm going to pick you up. It's going to hurt and I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

He wasn't lying, when he picked her up Aiya let out a bloodcurdling scream. Now that the abuse had stopped the pain was starting to sink in. Remus just kept mumbling how sorry he was as he cradled her against his chest and ran along the halls, rushing her to the hospital wing. She heard people gasping as he rushed past them and she thought he told someone, she had no idea who, to go and get James. Aiya figured they had reached their destination when she heard him yell for Madam Pomfrey.

He laid her down on one of the beds, which caused her to scream again. Madam Pomfrey tried to shoo him away but Aiya wouldn't let go of his hand. She was rapidly slipping toward unconsciousness and she was terrified. The pain was blinding and it took everything she had not to scream again. Aiya looked over at Remus and the last thing she saw before she fell into the darkness were the tears streaming down his face.

A week passed before she finally woke up and Aiya wished she hadn't. Even after all that time she was still in serious pain, made worse by the fact that she woke up to Sirius being a pain in the arse.

"James, Remus, she's alive!"

"Damn right I am. Think something like this would be enough to off me? Keep dreaming Black."

James smiled down at her as he pushed Sirius out of his way. "Hey baby doll, how're you feeling?"

"Like someone beat the living hell out of me. Oh wait, they did!"

"At least she still has a sense of humor."

"And a bad temper, as per usual. Just because that little wanna-be bad ass got in a few good kicks doesn't mean anything."

James looked solemn and took her hand. "Who did this Aiya?"

"You mean no one saw?"

"There was no one in that corridor. Remus forgot one of his books and went to get it which is how he found you. You were lying on the floor covered in blood and barely conscious."

"Snivellus."

"What!" Hmm, guess James hadn't been expecting that answer.

"It was Snivellus. He's the one who did this, shocking as that sounds."

All three boys exchanged angry looks and Aiya knew that Snape was in for it now. Sure she had planned on making him pay anyway but now it was going to be much worse. Aiya had seen James angry before so that didn't bother her but seeing Sirius and Remus pissed was sort of frightening. Sirius' features had completely closed down and his eyes were this steely gray that she'd never seen before. As intimidating as that was, the look on Remus' face scared her to death. He had paled even more than normal and his eyes were nearly black, which is weird since they were normal a really light brown. His features had also closed down but there was something far more frightening about the way he looked versus the way Sirius looked.

Before any of them could speak further Madam Pomfrey appeared and shooed the boys off. She poked and prodded, made Aiya swallow potion after disgusting potion and finally forced a sleeping potion down the girl's throat. As she began to drift off Aiya began a mental countdown to the day when she would get out of the hospital wing.

It took another week of torture before Madam Pomfrey allowed her to return to her dorm. She still had a lot of bruises and aches but for the most part Aiya had recovered. The one thing that would continue to haunt her was her shoulder. When Snivellus dislocated it he also caused the muscles and tendons to tear violently. Thanks to that Aiya's right shoulder would always give her trouble when she used it too much, bumped it or tired herself out too much. It sucked to know that she would have a permanent condition because of what Snape had done but considering that she had almost died she was grateful to just have the weakness. Though Sirius wasted no time in telling her that it could limit her severely after school.

"Idiot! Like I don't already know that? Besides, Pomfrey said that if I work at it I should be able to minimize the limitations. It means a lot of rehab but it'll be worth it."

"Point made."

"Ha!"

"Evil woman!"

"Duh!"

"Enough you two! Can't you guys go one minute without bickering?" Poor James was still fairly stressed over the whole situation.

"No!" Perfect unison on that one. Aiya seriously love Sirius.

"Moving on, I can't believe it's less than a month until Christmas holiday. Time drags on and flies by when you've been stuck in the hospital wing."

"You'll live kid."

"Bite me Sirius."

"Come here."

"Eww, no! Remus, save me!"

They all laughed at Aiya as she dove behind the armchair Remus was sitting in. It was pretty funny and it would have been funnier had she not immediately started cursing which caused all of them to rush to her side.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine James, I just bumped my shoulder, nothing major." Apparently diving behind furniture when you were recovering from a shoulder injury wasn't such a good idea.

"Are you sure? Do I need to go get Madam Pomfrey?"

"I'm fine, now stop fussing."

James pouted as Sirius helped Aiya to her feet. He hated it whenever she went all independent on him. As little kids Aiya had relied on James for everything and he was still adjusting to the change. He had been doing pretty well with it but after Snape beat the hell out of her it'd gotten harder for him. The quartet all sat back down and, to make him feel a little better, Aiya leaned against James. He wrapped his arm around her and they all settled down, chatting idly as time ticked away. After a while Aiya started to doze off which caused James to break up their little party and shuffle her off to bed. Aiya went quietly, exhausted by the hectic pace from her first day back.

Aiya was rather ticked off when she sunk into bed and suddenly found myself wide awake. Please note, she had never been afraid of the dark or what may lurk within it. That being said she bloody terrified at the moment. She hadn't slept well at all since she got her ass handed to her but right now she was royally freaking out. She was going to have to do something if she wanted any sleep that night and she was damn tired of taking potions.

Silently she slipped out of bed and snuck down the stairs. No one was in the Common Room, which is good because that meant she didn't have to be stealthy or anything. Aiya hurried up the stairs that led to the boys' dormitories and wasted no time in securing herself in their room. It took her a second to get oriented, she had to remember which bed belonged to which boy, but once she got her bearings she quickly snuck over to Sirius' bedside. Why Sirius? James kicks in his sleep and she was still bruised that's why. Why not Remus? He'd been acting weird ever since he found her bleeding on the floor and she wasn't quite sure how to deal with that.

It took a moment to wake Sirius up and another moment before he realized who she was.

"Aiya, what are you doing here?"

"Promise you won't laugh."

"Promise."

"For the first time in my life I'm afraid of the dark."

"Why didn't you wake James up?"

"He kicks in his sleep and I'm still bruised. So can I bunk with you or not?" And yes, for anyone wondering, this whole conversation is being whispered.

"Climb in."

"Thanks." Aiya slipped in under the covers and scooted close to Sirius. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and she laid her head on his chest.

"Sirius?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask another favor?"

"I'm not getting naked."

Aiya poked him in the ribs as hard as she could which caused him to let out a quiet yelp.

"Evil woman."

"Yep."

"So what do you want?"

"Every year my parents and James' host this Christmas ball thing and I kind of need an escort this year. Normally James does it but this year he has to escort one of our younger cousins since it's her first time. So, would you possibly be able to fill the position?"

"For you baby doll, anything."

She leaned back a little to look up at him. "Really?"

"Yep."

"Your mum will be okay with it?"

"You're pureblood right?"

"Yeah."

"Then she won't care."

"Your mum's a special one. I'm surprised she even keeps you around since you got sorted into Gryffindor."

"Yeah, me too."

"Well, thanks for agreeing to escort me."

"Like I said anything for you."

"Sleep now."

He chuckled softly. "Yeah, good idea."

Aiya fell asleep the instant they stopped talking and she didn't stir again until sge heard James yelling.

"Sirius, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Trying to sleep mate." Good answer.

"Go away Jamie."

"Aiya, what are you doing in his bed?"

"Trying to sleep."

"But you're in Sirius' bed."

"Know that."

"Why?"

Aiya reluctantly opened her eyes and rolled to look up at James. "I couldn't sleep in my dorm and you kick in your sleep so I asked Sirius if I could bunk with him."

"I do not kick in my sleep."

"Bullocks! You run a marathon in your sleep."

He frowned. "What's a marathon?"

"Muggle thing. Ask Lily."

"Whatever, now get out of Sirius' bed, please."

"But it's warm here and I left my dressing gown in my dorm."

A dressing gown suddenly covered her face causing her to yelp in surprise. Aiya sat up and stared around the room, searching for the culprit. Though she had no definite proof her guess is that it was Remus. Why Remus? He was avoiding eye contact. Hmm, something new there, Remus throwing his clothes at her. He's not getting this back.

Aiya climbed out of the bed and pulled the dressing robe on, hiding her surprise at the fact that the fabric was warm. Going on her earlier assumption she breathed deeply, taking in the scent of the fabric. Chocolate! Definitely Remus's and he's never going to see it again! She smiled at the guys and headed back to her own dorm.

When she got there all of her roommates were up though not all were dressed. Lily immediately rushed over to her, pajamas and all, and began bombarding with questions.

"Where were you! I woke up this morning and you were gone."

"I was in the guys' room. I couldn't sleep last night so I went and bunked with them."

"Which one?"

"Sirius. James kicks in his sleep and I'm still too bruised to put up with that. Oh, and later he'll probably ask you about marathons."

"Great, suddenly I'm regretting ever muggle reference I've ever made to you."

Aiya laughed at her friend and shook her head. After a moment of consideration she decided that since it was Saturday she wasn't going to rush a shower this morning.

"Lily, dear, it will not kill you to talk to James for a moment."

"Considering the fact that he can't go for one second without asking me out, talking to him is a bit of a difficulty."

"If I make him promise not to ask you out?"

"Then I'll consider explaining it to him."

"I'll have a chat with him."

Lily huffed and headed for the shower. Aiya smirked and decided that she wouldn't torment her with the fact that her eyes had lit up at my mention of James. That girl was seriously in denial but Aiya had the feeling that things will work themselves out in time. Hopefully soon, she was tired of their bickering.

About 15 minutes later, Lily came back out and Aiya headed for the shower.

"You better not have used all the hot water Evans."

"Poor baby. Bitch all you like but if you wanted hot water you should have taken the first shower."

Aiya laughed at her and closed the bathroom door. She hurriedly climbed into the shower and sighed as the warm water worked its magic on her sore muscles. She moved slowly as she washed her hair and body and finally managed to complete her cleaning routine. After she turned off the water Aiya carefully dried off and used a drying charm on her hair before heading back into her room to get dressed. She was kind of glad to see that Lily was waiting for her since there was the possibility that she would need a little help to get dressed.

Aiya managed to get dressed quickly though Lily did have to help a bit with her jumper, her arm is not cooperating today. Aiya shot the other girl a grateful smile as they headed down to the Common Room. The guys were waiting for her and the second they walked in James started annoying Lily.

"Marry me Evans?"

"Grow up Potter."

"Is that a no?"

Lily huffed and stormed out of the room. James stared after her for a moment and then turned to the rest of them, a puzzled look on his face.

"Was it something I said?"

They all laughed at him and left for breakfast. James and Sirius walked on either side of Aiya with Remus and Peter following close behind. The moment she was released from the hospital wing James had decreed that Aiya was not to be left alone again. From that moment forth at least one of them was to be with her at all times. She was planning on submitting a formal appeal, aiming to target Remus to talk some sense into James, after all he is the one with the most common sense.

The one thing that pleased her most about this whole thing was that Snivellus hadn't opened his fat mouth. Aiya guessed he was too much a chicken to admit to it which amused her to no end. So here they are walking into breakfast and who should run into her, literally, but old Snivellus himself. The guys started to move forward but Aiya just held up a hand and stepped up so that Snivlly was the only one to hear her next words.

"Payback time Snivs. Keep an eye out because your life is going to become a nightmare from here on out. This is the last time I stop my boys from pounding your greasy ass, next time you won't be so lucky. Now get lost, just being within ten feet of you is making me nauseous."

She took a step back and waved him away before heading to the Gryffindor table. The guys all took their seats and James looked at her, curious as to what she'd done to put that look of terror in Snape's eyes.

"Aiya, what did you say to Snivellus?"

"I just let him know that he's going to pay for what he did."

"That's what we've been telling him ever since you woke up."

"Yeah but it means a hell of a lot more coming from me since I'm the one he attacked in the first place."

"She has a point James."

"Remus, according to you, she always has a point."

Aiya watched the exchange and couldn't hide a smile. These were her boys. James, Remus and Sirius were the best and they were all hers. Sure, they'd have girlfriends but when it came down to it those girls would be a fling and she would always have her guys. She had a feeling that one day every girl in Hogwarts is going to envy her because those three are hotties in the making. Hell, they're hot now and time makes boys into men, so ladies, guard yourselves, there are some serious heartbreakers roaming the halls.

* * *

A/N: Okay so I know some of you are in total wtf mode right now thinking there is no way this could ever really happen. Actually it can. When someone gets into a high emotional state (in Snape's case being really pissed off) and adds in adrenaline (which pretty much starts flowing the second a confrontation starts since that's just basic human nature) anything is possible. Why have this happen at all? Because I honestly don't like the fact that the Marauders never really seemed to have a reason for harassing Snape so I decided to give them one so that instead of their pranks being pointless they're now non-violent payback.


	4. Christmas Fun

"Chocolate frogs can dance!"

"Cannot!"

For some reason Sirius didn't believe Aiya that chocolate frogs could dance so she waved her wand and a group of them began doing the can-can. Everyone collapsed in a fit of laughter and each of them grabbed a frog. They had a Christmas toast and went back to their candy. The group was on their way home and were trying to pack as much fun into the train ride as they could. Aiya wouldn't be seeing any one except James for the next two weeks and she was totally bummed. Well, okay so she'd see Sirius over the next couple of days, he was staying with them until after the ball, but after that it will just be her and James.

Before they knew it they were back in London and it was time to go their separate ways. Lily and Aiya hugged, cried and promised to write each other every day before Lily went off with her parents and her rather sour looking sister. Aiya gave Remus a kiss on the cheek before he walked away and made him promise to write after he opened her Christmas present. He promised and the guys bid him farewell. As he started to leave her mother came running over.

"Wait, are you Remus?"

"Uh, yes."

Elizabeth Wyatt threw her arms around the young man and hugged him tight. Everyone else stood in shock until she pulled back and smiled down at him. "Thank you for saving my daughter's life. You're a true angel. Have a Happy Christmas dear, and don't hesitate to come over, you're always welcome."

Remus nodded and thanked her before turning away and walking to meet his parents. No one else noticed but he had tears in his eyes when he looked back at Aiya and her mum. Aiya smiled at him and gave a quick nod, her way of saying that his secret was safe with her. He waved goodbye and after they disappeared Aiya and her mother joined back up with the others. The drive home was quick and painless and before she knew it Aiya was dragging her things up four flights of stairs with James and Sirius hot on her tail.

"So this is my room, that one over there is James' and this one is yours." She opened the door to the room next to James' and stepped back to allow him to go in.

"Damn! This place makes my house look like the Shrieking Shack."

"Yeah well, the Potters and the Wyatts are two of the richest families in the wizard world. Combine that with the Cannon fortune and you've got some serious awesomeness going on."

"Still, wow."

"Yeah and it gets better so dump your junk and come on."

Sirius dropped his trunk and followed her out into the hall where I began the tour.

"So this is my floor. The house had five levels plus a basement and attic. The ground floor is all the social crap. Dining Room, Library, Living Room, Ballroom and Parlor. The first floor is the Dueling Arena, Weight Room, Classroom and Rec Room. Second floor is my parents' floor and they have a bunch of guest bedroom that their friends and guests use. Both the second and third floors will expand when needed to fit up to thirteen rooms on each one, though when not needed there are only seven."

"So it can get really cramped around here."

"Nope. If the floor were to fill up your room would be the same size at it is right now, there would just be more doors on the walls. The house has tons of enchantments on it so it can do all sorts of nifty stuff, and you'll find the same thing going on at James' house. So, next, the room at the end of this hall is mine and doubles as my own little library. You're welcome to and borrow whatever you like but the books are all charmed to stay on this floor and only my parents or Jazzy can undo the charm but Jazzy can only do it with my permission. Jazzy's our head house elf, in case you were wondering. All you have to do is call her and she'll come."

"Yeah, and don't try to steal Aiya's books, she's got some nasty charms on those things."

"James knows from personal experience. Last time he tried to steal one of my books he got shocked and his hair was sticking straight up for a week."

"Like it doesn't do that every day?"

"Worse."

"No!"

"Yes! Now, the fourth floor is off limits to all us kids since it's where they keep all the stuff we're not supposed to know about. In truth it's just offices, a vault type room and a second library though the books in there are really old, really rare and all in all, it's like the Restricted Section at school. I've been allowed up there once or twice and it's kind of creepy." She shivered a bit and smiled sheepishly. "Moving on, the bedrooms all have a really cool feature on them, look at your door."

"Hey, it says my name on it."

"Yep. It's all in the enchantments. See, now whenever you come over this will be your room because I gave it to you in a manner of speaking. There are two ways for us to present rooms to people. Some people we 'give' rooms to, like you, which is why I said it was your room when I opened the door. The rooms automatically decorate themselves based on a person's preferences so it's possible for the room change every time you come over.

"For people who aren't considered 'permanent' we introduce the room by color. Basically I would open the door and say something like, 'You'll be staying in the blue room'. The room would decorate itself in blue, the words 'blue room' would appear on the door and that would be that. I only give rooms to people I like." Aiya laughed and motioned the guys to follow her back downstairs.

In the foyer she turned to face the guys and smiled. "To my left is the parlor, living room's to the right. Down the hall on the left is the library and dining room and the ballroom is down the hall on the right. Kitchen's in the basement so follow me and I'll introduce you to Jazzy."

Aiya skipped down the hall and smiled when she heard the guys laugh at her. She's a nut and she knows it so she might as well make the most of it, right? She took the stairs two at a time and squealed when she landed at the bottom.

"Biscuits!" Aiya rushed over and grabbed a hot-out-of-the-oven chocolate chip biscuits and proceeded to burn her mouth as she took a bite. "Ow, ow, ow, yummy."

The guys fell over laughing at her idiocy and Jazzy came running over with a glass of cold milk.

"Missy Aiya, I is not believing you is doing it again. Every time you is coming home you is burning your mouth on Jazzy's biscuits."

"That's because they're just so good. I miss your biscuits when I'm away."

"You is only being gone for three months."

"Doesn't mean I can't miss your biscuits. They're the best after all."

The little house elf blushed and waved her hand at the girl. "You is giving Jazzy too much credit."

"Nope. Best biscuits ever! Sirius, get your scrawny arse over here and get a biscuit."

"Don't have to tell me twice."

"Missy Aiya, who is this boy being?"

"Jazzy, this is my friend Sirius. Sirius, this is Jazzy, head house elf and the best biscuit maker ever! Jazzy, Sirius will be staying with us until after the ball."

"Welcome to Wyatt Manor, Mister Sirius sir. If you is needing anything you just call Jazzy and I be getting it for you. Now, where is Mister James?"

"Right here."

"Oh, welcome home. You is not eating enough in schools! You is too skinny. Sit and eat."

Sirius snorted in his effort not to laugh and took a bite of his biscuit. Seconds later his eyes rolled back in his head and he groaned.

"Best damn biscuits ever!"

"Ha! Told you so."

"Evil woman!"

"Again, ha!"

The trio all laughed and thoroughly enjoyed their biscuits. After about half an hour Jazzy shooed them from the kitchen and they went up to Aiya's room until dinner. Sirius ranted and raved all through dinner and the seven of them laughed well into the night. Finally the parents sent them to bed, though they didn't exactly listen. After they all changed the guys came back to Aiya's room and they ended up falling asleep on her bed. James had his head on Aiya's stomach and Sirius and Aiya were curled up together. Aiya's mum commented on it the next morning, telling her how cute she looked with her 'brothers'. Aiya shared that thought with Sirius and he fell in love with the idea which is why James, Sirius and Aiya are now brothers and sister.

Aiya stood in front of the mirror in her room and cocked her head to the side, surveying her appearance. Her hair was pulled back, a few curled strands framing her face. Her mother had curled her normally stick straight hair and she liked the way it looked. She tugged on her dress a bit, checking the charm her mother had placed on it. The dress was a deep royal purple that floated to the floor. It was strapless, thus the reason for the charms, and the bodice was artfully beaded. All in all she looked damn good. As Aiya turned to make sure her bum wasn't huge someone knocked on the door.

"Enter at your own risk."

"Are you naked?"

"No."

"Damn." Aiya laughed as Sirius came strolling in, looking absolutely dashing in his dress robes.

"Pervert."

"Absolutely. Ready to go down, guests are starting to arrive and James is getting his knickers in a bunch because you're still up here."

"Not surprising. It's no wonder he doesn't stand a chance with Lily, he has no clue about women."

Sirius laughed and led Aiya from her room and down the stairs. They walked over to the middle of the welcoming line and took their places beside her parents. So this is how things work. The hosting couple, Aiya's mum and dad or her aunt and uncle, is at the head of the line followed by said couple's child and then the second couple and child. Each guest is greeted as they enter, a moment of small talk passes, and once everyone, or most everyone, has arrived the welcome line breaks up and mingles appropriately. Fancy crap but also ages of tradition so James and Aiya just had to go with it. Normally they would both be in the middle, since normally they escorted each other but obviously this year is different. Aiya was in the middle with Sirius and James is at the end with their cousin Lindsey, it's her first Christmas Ball.

Anyway, back to reality. So they've now greeted about twenty people when, at last, some of the people Aiya had been waiting for show up.

"Gideon, Fabian, how are you loves?" She hugged the Prewett brothers and reached up to straighten Gideon's tie.

"How's Hogwarts kid?"

"Gideon Prewett, you are a git and school is fabulous. May I introduce my escort and one of my best mates, Sirius Black, and no worries boys, he's a Gryffindor."

"A Black in Gryffindor. I never thought I'd see the day. Nice to meet you Sirius, I'm Gideon and this is my brother Fabian."

"Nice to meet you both. Now, Aiya love, why are you fussing over these muscleheads?"

Aiya smacked Sirius' arm and they all laughed. "Git, and I'm not your love."

"Evil woman!"

"Ha!"

"Look at this Gideon, our little Ai has herself a boyfriend."

Sirius and Aiya looked at each other before turning back to the brothers and chorusing, "Ew!"

"Fabian, I adore you and you know it but I will not hesitate to hurt you if you continue insinuating such things. Now where are Molly, Arthur and my Bill?"

"Haven't seen them yet but she said they'd be here so I'm guessing they will be, unless Bill got sick at the last minute."

"He wouldn't because he adores me too much. Now both of you scoot and I'll hunt you down later."

The twins smiled and finished their hellos before heading into the ballroom. Again things became mundane until yet another of Aiya's favorite guests appeared.

"Andy! Oh, I'm so glad you came. Ted, it's good to see you, now gimme that baby."

Sirius smiled and embraced Aiya's friend while she gushed over Andy's daughter. Aiya watched the pair talk and wondered what was up.

"You two know each other?"

"Know each other?" Sirius started laughing. "Andromeda is my cousin."

"Oh, then you must know Nymmie."

"Actually no, Andy kind of got herself kicked out of the family when she married Ted."

"Stupid gits. Well, this is the incredibly gorgeous Nymphadora, my favorite little pink haired metamorphmagus." As the words left my mouth the currently blue haired baby turned her hair a shocking shade of pink and giggled.

Sirius looked at Andy and Aiya saw him raise an eyebrow. "Nymphadora? You know she's going to hate you forever right?"

"Grow up cousin."

"Never!"

They all laughed and Nymmie began bouncing up and down in Aiya's arms, clearly amused by the adults. After another few moments Aiya reluctantly gave the baby back to Ted so that they could move on. Aiya pouted about it, which made Sirius snigger, and she saw James look up the line to see what was so funny. Again time ticked by as more and more people showed up. Finally, much to Aiya's relief, Molly and Arthur Weasley showed up with Bill.

"Bill! Oh, hey baby boy, did you miss me?" Molly quickly passed him to her because if she didn't Aiya was likely to just snatch him away.

"No!"

"Yes you did."

"No!"

"Yes you did."

"Ai-Ai."

"Yep. You look so handsome tonight sweetheart." She kissed his cheek and smiled at Molly. "It's about time you got here, Gideon and Fabian showed up ages ago."

"Gigi!"

They all laughed and Sirius just about fell on the floor. Aiya touched the tip of her nose to Bill's and smiled at him. Finally, they all stopped laughing long enough for her to make introductions.

"Molly, Arthur, this is my escort and one of my best mates from school, Sirius Black. Oh, and no worries, he's in Gryffindor so he's cool. In fact, I expect him to pull an Andy."

Sirius looked at her and raised an eyebrow in question. Without missing a beat she smiled at him and said, "You know, get kicked out of the family."

"I can only hope." He rolled his eyes and they all laughed again. While they stood talking Aiya's mum leaned over and said that they could go into the ballroom now. Aiya nodded and signaled James that they had the all clear.

"Molly, Arthur, go find the guys and talk for a bit, I know you miss being around adults. I'll watch Bill for a bit so don't worry."

"Thank you dear, we appreciate it."

Sirius and Aiya watched as the Weasleys headed off before they followed. James gave her a pained look as he walked Lindsey into the ballroom and Aiya had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. Poor guy had to take the squirt around and mingle with everyone while she simply enjoyed her evening. She spotted Andy and Ted and we went over so that the babies could play together. Aiya smiled at the sight of people on the dance floor, the humor in this is that the official opening dance has not yet taken place, and decided that she was going to have a dance with Bill. She whispered to Sirius and he scooped up Nymmie before the four of them headed out onto the dance floor.

The little ones squealed with delight as Aiya and Sirius danced with them, spinning them around the floor and dipping them. People had gathered at the edge to watch the four of them dance, it was really cute as she found out later when she saw pictures. When the song ended Sirius and Aiya stopped side by side and smiled at their partners who were happily bouncing and giggling. Everyone applauded and they bowed before returning the kids to their parents so that they would partake in the actual opening dance.

Sirius and Aiya, along with James and Lindsey, her mum and dad and her aunt and uncle, took up their positions on the floor and waited for the band to begin. As the first note floated through the air they began moving and she immediately felt sorry for James. Linds was definitely not the best dancer in the world but luckily Sirius was. This would probably be the only time she ever gave thanks to the Black family because if they weren't so stuck up, Sirius would probably be trampling her feet right then.

Their pace slowed as the song faded and the eight of them took a bow as the guests applauded. Her father announced the ball officially open and the band began playing another song as couples spilled onto the floor. Glad that her formal duties were now over Aiya grabbed Sirius' hand and ran for the terrace. They laughed as they sank onto one of the stone benches that were situated along the railing that separated the patio area from the lawn.

"Careful darling or someone might think we're up to something."

Aiya laughed at the way Sirius deepened his voice and leaned toward her, acting scandalous just in case someone was watching.

"Oh, but aren't we?"

"And what exactly do you have in mind my love?"

Aiya cracked up laughing, she could never keep a straight face when Sirius called'my love'.

"Sorry, sorry, I just can't keep a straight face when you call me that."

"I know, that's why I do it."

"Prat."

"Yeah, I know but you still love me."

"Of course." She looked through the open doorway and winced at the sight of Lindsey dragging James around the dance floor for a second time. "Merlin, I feel so bad for James right now. Lindsey's a good kid but she's a bit overzealous sometimes."

"I'm noticing."

"I don't see her a lot, usually only at Christmas, but she's always kind of hyper and it always kind of scares me."

Sirius laughed at that and Aiya just smiled sweetly, looking anywhere but directly at him. Eventually she started laughing too and the pair of them stayed on the patio until her mother finally managed to hunt them down.

"Aiya, Sirius, you two can go upstairs now if you want. Find James on your way and rescue him while you're at it."

The duo laughed and Sirius grabbed Aiya's hand, dragging her back inside so that they could escape from the party. She sent Sirius to find James while she hunted down her friends and said goodnight. Bill gave her a rather sloppy little kiss but she adored him too much to complain. After hugging Molly, Arthur, Gideon, Fabian, Andy and Ted, and kissing a very sleepy Nymmie, Aiya ran off to her room. She caught up with the guys on the second floor and Sirius and Aiya spent the entire rest of the climb taking the piss out of James.

After changing into their pajamas they all gathered in Aiya's room and pulled out a deck of cards. They spent the next couple of hours playing poker, gambling their shares of the biscuits that Jazzy had brought them. James tried to warn Sirius about Aiya's poker prowess but he didn't listen and all too soon he lost his cut of the cookies. Being the awesome friend that she was Aiya gave them back, after eating a couple that is. Eventually they all passed out in a heap. Aiya was cuddled up with James and Sirius had fallen asleep using her stomach as a pillow. Mum said we looked adorable, Aiya said were asleep so who cares.

The next morning Sirius and his trunk flooed home, but only after a loud round of protests. Aiya hugged him tight and told him to come over soon so that she and James could teach him how to really make some trouble. After hugs from the parents and a slap on the back from James, he disappeared in a flash of green flames and we all dispersed. James and Aiya immediately ran for her room and started pulling all their favorite books down.

"Where are we going to start?"

Aiya smiled wickedly and shrugged. "No clue but it's going to be fun."


End file.
